As the CEO of WatchMojo.com, I see and hear a lot of juicy tidbits from the front lines as it pertains to the video space.  I also am privy to some discussions with regards to business and corporate development.

Generally speaking, even devoid of an actual NDA in place, I usually write pieces for HipMojo.com as if one were in place with the companies that are the subject of a piece in question… just to err on the safe side.  Make no mistake about it, I do aggregate all of the data and insight from the front lines to try to make my pontifications be as realistic as they could be… and I think this is why CEO bloggers add to the landscape.

The downside is that I don’t try to “break” stories, be it something (all of the following are things in the past) on YouTube’s monetization efforts, or Adobe’s latest video player, or the date of Hulu’s launch, or an impending shift in strategy or tactics of another player.  I also don’t tell YouTube what MySpace TV is about to do, either, or vice-versa.  In all fairness, people have the courtesy not to ask either.

Of course, I presume if you read between the lines, you can probably pick up some Freudian slips or subconscious references… and that is human nature.

In fact, apart from one period in particular when I used this blog as a soapbox to defend myself against an unfair, meritless and frivolous lawsuit brought forth by my petty and jealous erstwhile partners, I try not to use it as an inter-company communications channel or medium.  It’s an insider’s blog, basically… but not one that is used for communications between companies or executives even though sometimes I will comment on what industry leaders ought to be doing (last year for example, I lashed out at GooTube’s efforts to monetize videos…).

That all being said, I absolutely love this post by Zoho’s CEO Sridhar Vembu: he’s commenting on Google’s partnership with Salesforce (the two compete with his firm) and chronicling - in depth - how Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff offered to buy Zoho.

Just to protect his neck, he explicitly mentions a few times that he is NOT under any DNAs; I would too if I would be writing with such details on an actual, specific exchange… but the danger is: how will other CEOs feel about sharing ideas or pitching to him in the future?  Then again, I am sure some people worry about me going public, but that’s why I generally speaking step away from the machine…

Either way, interesting read and insight into the life of a CEO behind the scenes, from the front lines.